Allison Zilbershatz
T206
Midterm Project
“Snails see the benefits, the beauty in every inch so why, why, why, why, oh why, are you quick
to kiss? Baby maybe I spoke too soon, I’ll touch you once you make the first move. Snails see the
benefits, the beauty in every inch.” I still remember the first time I heard this song. I was a senior in
high school and obsessed with the band The Format. Their second album, Dog Problems came out over
the summer and I bought it as soon as I could find it in stores. I loved “Snails” from the beginning. It’s
such a strange song, with a very unique melody; yet it caught my attention right away. To me, the lyrics
signify taking this slowly and appreciating the beauty in everything. The five photos I took illustrate my
interpretation.
The first image that popped into my head when I closed my eyes and listened to the lyrics was
one of childhood joy. As children, we get this pure, unadulterated pleasure from this simplest of things.
I pictured skipping stones in a lake, playing on the swings, or sledding. Finally, I thought about how
much I used to LOVE raking up the leaves in my lawn and just jumping and rolling around in them
afterward. Even thinking about it brought a smile to my face. So my roommate and I raked (and by
raked I mean kicked and gathered with our hands) the leaves up in the front of our house and she laid
down in the leaves – after a bit of begging. At first she looked too posed, but after a few photos, she
finally relaxed and looked like she was actually enjoying it. I took the picture from a few different
angles, but I ended liking the straight down‐shot on the scene best. In my mind, it truly reflected her
“happiness” and the childlike quality of the scene.
Another image that pops into my head when I think about this song and appreciating beauty is
the phrase “stopping to smell the roses”. I took this idea literally. We got a bouquet of flowers, put
them in a vase, and arranged them in a certain way so that my roommate could pose smelling them. At
first, I tried to get a picture of her smelling the flowers literally though the flowers. However, this never
ended up looking quite right. Instead, I decided to have my roommate hold up the only pink flower,
surrounded by yellow ones, and smell it. Taking the picture at an angle eye level to my roommate
proved to work perfectly. I also tried to arrange everything so that only my roommate’s nose, mouth,
and chin were in sight. I thought this combination of her face and the flowers filled up the frame nicely
and in my mind, followed the rule of thirds perfectly.
The third photo I took had to do with the line in the song “why are you so quick to kiss”. Since
this song is all about taking things slow, I always picture a guy trying to kiss a girl, yet she is resisting.
She thinks it’s way too soon and they need to take their time and enjoy the simplicity of their current
relationship. I explained this idea to two friends of mine and asked them to act it out in their own
interpretation. Picture number 3 is how they saw it. Sully is trying to kiss Morgan, but she is throwing
her hands in the air, trying to tell him no. I liked taking this from a high angle, shooting downward on
my subjects. I put them in my kitchen because in my mind, this type of scene would occur after a “hang

out session” when the guy was leaving the girls house. Though it almost looks like Morgan is smiling in
the picture, I think it works and gets across my overall thought process.
I’ll admit that I didn’t take the fourth photo with this project in mind. I actually took it a couple
of months ago on a trip to Barcelona while I was studying abroad. I fit perfectly with my idea of finding
beauty in the ugliest of things, so I hope you don’t mind. It’s a picture of a graffitied wall with the word
Amor (love) written on it. Though graffiti usually signifies disregard for the law and the defacing of
someone’s property, I saw beauty in this “art”. I played around a little in photoshop to turn everything
but the words “Amor” to black and white. To me, this made the word stand out more, like beauty will
stand out even among the ugliest of things. This doesn’t exactly fit in with the overall theme of my
other photos, but I really feel this picture describes the song perfectly.
The last photo I took was kind of silly. I went to one of the Format’s concerts a few years ago
and Nate, the lead singer, explained that this song is about his dog, Nico. In the original version of the
song, the first line is “Nico come back home”. I thought about Nate and his dog as I was working on this
project. Fortunately, we happen to be dog sitting right now. I wanted to incorporate the idea of
childlike pleasure with the love of a dog, so I decided to have my roommate and her dog, Fondse, pose
for a picture. I asked her to play with Fondse and show me how much fun they have when they play
together. I laid down on the floor with them and took the picture with my camera actually resting on
the ground. This provided a very cool, close up angle. Every time I look at this photo I smile and think
about how much fun they were actually having while posing for the picture. Yet again, a perfect fit.
I’m really happy with how all five photos turned out. Each one is different and has its own
uniqueness, yet they all are united in the sentiment they reflect. They flawlessly describe the lyrics of
The Format’s “Snails” in my mind.
Snails see the benefits,
The beauty in every inch
Oh, why, why, why, why, oh, why,
Are you quick to kiss?
Baby maybe, I spoke too soon
I'll touch you once you make the first move
Snails see the benefits,
The beauty in every inch